Mandela Washington Fellowship
About the Mandela Washington Fellowship
The Mandela Washington Fellowship, the flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), empowers young African leaders through academic coursework, leadership training, and networking opportunities. Fellows come from every country in Sub-Saharan Africa and have established records of accomplishment in promoting innovation and positive change in their organizations and communities. The Fellowship is designed to encourage and foster the ingenuity, confidence, passion, and commitment of the next generation of African leaders. Through this Initiative, the U.S. will bring over 1,000 young leaders for training in three vital areas: business and entrepreneurship; public management and administration; and civic leadership.
These exceptional young leaders will meet at the end of their institutes in Washington, D.C., for the Mandela Washington Fellowship Summit, where they will take part in networking and panel discussions with each other and U.S. leaders from the public, private, and non-profit sectors. Following the Summit, 100 competitively-selected Fellows will spend six weeks in professional development experiences with U.S. non-governmental organizations, private companies, and government agencies.
For the sixth consecutive year, Northwestern will host a cohort of 25 of Africa’s brightest emerging leaders for a six-week business and entrepreneurship institute. Northwestern’s program is being developed through a partnership between the Program of African Studies and the Kellogg School of Management and is designed to challenge, inspire, and empower these inspiring young leaders from Africa. Highlights of this summer’s program include: academic courses focusing on new venture formation taught by faculty in the Kellogg School of Management; site visits to Chicago businesses and nonprofits, including World Bicycle Relief, World Business Chicago, and 1871; community service, involving mentoring high school students through the Youth Organization Umbrella, Evanston’s Young Entrepreneurship Summer Camp; and cultural activities, such as an architectural boat tour of Chicago, museum visits, concerts, and festivals.
Additional information on the Mandela Washington Fellowship program.